Picking Up the Pieces
by DCeMBers
Summary: Set after the events of 2x13 "Comeback". Quinn finds herself in a very familiar situation and Rachel helps her out. Eventual Faberry. Update: now contains a scene from 2x14 'Blame It on the Alcohol'. Runs parallel to 2x15 'Sexy'and 2x16 'Original Song'
1. Distraught

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. If I did, the IQ's of the character's would fall into the range of normal human beings.**

**Spoilers: Up to 2x13 "Comeback"**

**A/N: It appears that this will be my first multi-chaptered fic. I wanted to do something off of a Pezberry prompt but I'd still have to do research for that. So Faberry it is. Luckily this week's episode (Comeback) has opened up an opportunity for it. Please read and review! Your comments will be greatly appreciated. It is what makes me keep on writing for you guys.**

**A/N2: This is unbetaed. All mistakes are mine (hope there aren't too many). I'll try to update this as quickly as I can (fingers crossed). Wish me luck!**

**Pick Up the Pieces**

Quinn was distraught.

She couldn't understand how her life could crash and burn twice in a row. This was almost the same as Babygate last year, but without the baby. She was no longer a Cheerio, her boyfriend dumped her because she cheated and the guy she cheated with wasn't all that interested in her anymore. How could she make the same mistake twice? And this time there was no one in Glee to sympathize with her. The only bright side that she could ever pull from this was that instead of morning sickness, all she got was mono.

God, she was so pathetic.

Now, walking the hallways of McKinley with no one by her side, she felt empty. Alone. Gone was the Queen Bee of McKinley and in her place was a nobody. Quinn didn't know who she was anymore. She had nothing to latch onto, nothing that could help define her in some way. Everything that she ever worked for, everything that she surrounded herself with, all just served to keep up her popularity. It was all a mirror for her ego and now it was shattered like so much broken glass. Picking up the pieces would only make her fingers bleed.

The bell rang.

She jerked out of her emotional puddle of self-pity only to see Crystal, the new head Cheerio since she left the squad, standing before her, a large slushy cup in one hand, with the rest of the Cheerios behind her.

"You cost us Regionals, Fabray."

"Just leave me alone, Crystal."

"No! You don't call the shots anymore. You left us hanging and now we're gonna make sure you don't come back from this." She jerked her hand holding the slushy forward.

Quinn closed her eyes and braced herself as the icy liquid and grape-flavored corn syrup impacted her face and trickled down her clothes. The coldness of the drink contrasting the heat of her cheeks as she burned with the shame and humiliation of being slushied again, an act that would redefine her as a loser in this school, confirming her new place in the social order.

It took Quinn all of five seconds to burst into tears and start running for the nearest bathroom, the laughter of the Cheerio's echoing in her ears as she quickly tried to distance herself from them. The other students seemed to be laughing too, reveling in the fall of the now ex-HBIC Quinn Fabray, who once ruled over them with an iron fist, fell from grace and somehow managed, to their great dismay, to return to do it all over again. But now, there was no way she'd get a third chance to get back to the top.

Nobody liked the period of Quinn's reign. Her insecurities drove her to constantly reinforce the social order in McKinley more times than necessary. Sure, it was expected that if you stuck your neck in a place it didn't belong, discipline would come in the form of slushies, dumpster dips and if you were unlucky, being rolled around in a portalet. Quinn, however, ruling the school since she was a freshman, kept ordering 'disciplinary actions', even to people minding their own business, just to constantly remind them of their standing in the social hierarchy. Rachel Berry, for one, used to have a standing slushy order for everyday.

Rachel.

Rachel Berry was one of the few positive changes Quinn made in her life. Granted, she wasn't exactly friends with the diva, but at least they weren't enemies anymore. She was the only girl Quinn had ever personally tortured. But even after everything Quinn had done to her, Rachel had still found it in her heart to forgive her and even offer her friendship when Quinn was having a hard time during the pregnancy. Rejecting that offer was the single biggest regret of Quinn's life, so she resolved that she would at least be a little more civil to the brunette from then on.

Back when Quinn was still climbing the Cheerios ladder, she had used Rachel as an example for all those who would get on the icy blonde's bad side. All because Rachel had foolishly made the mistake of marching straight up to Quinn on the first day of classes, unaware of the breach she was making in the social order rigidly held by the students of McKinley High, and invited her to join _Glee_ _club_. Quinn had seized this moment as the first stepping stone to her rise to the top and threw the slushy she was drinking at the small diva, marking the first ever slushying in McKinley High history. After that incident, it never stopped. Quinn constantly bullied the shorter brunette, making up derogatory nicknames for her, insulting her fashion sense, even drawing pornographic pictures of her in the first floor bathroom.

Now, here she was, in that same bathroom, wearing an animal sweater and penny loafers, dripping in grape slushy, crying her eyes out in front of the mirror. God, when did she turn into Rachel? If she didn't believe in karmic retribution before, she certainly did now. Speaking of which...

"Quinn, are you okay?"

Rachel.

Quinn wished she could just melt into a puddle and be done with it. Any flecks of ice on her face melted away as the blood rushed to her cheeks at the sight of the last person in the world she wanted to see standing there in front of her. Seeing that the blonde was still too shocked to talk, Rachel continued.

"Let me help you Quinn, I always keep my slushy clean up kit around for times such as these. I have also become somewhat of an expert in cleaning up the aftermath of a slushying since, as you know, I have had a lot of practice at it." Quinn just started sobbing again. Even until now Rachel was still a very kind hearted and caring person. She had even mellowed a bit in the past year and didn't make as many diva rants as she used to. Rachel never deserved any of the torments Quinn had bestowed upon her in the past.

Upon seeing the blonde breaking down once more, Rachel reached out and cupped Quinn's cheek in one hand, ignoring the sticky liquid that was still on Quinn's face, and turned her head up, forcing Quinn to look Rachel in the eye.

"Look Quinn, it's going to be alright. I know what you did to Sam was horrible, but you can't change the past. All you can do is try to be better in the future. Now we're going to get you cleaned up, okay?"

Quinn nodded.

Rachel removed her hand from Quinn's cheek, and without thinking, started licking her palm. Quinn suddenly went rigid at this very odd sight. Rachel, upon noticing Quinn stiffen, quickly realized what she was doing and whipped her hand away from her mouth. It was now Rachel's turn to blush furiously.

"I.. I-i...I'm very sorry Quinn. I-it's just that like the flavor of grape. Even Noah mentioned it once, that I always used to lick my lips whenever a grape slushy was thrown at my face. A-and.. and... I just really like grape, okay!"

Rachel nearly shouted that last part out, cheeks still burning with shame. To her surprise, Quinn just chuckled. Needing something to occupy her trembling hands, Rachel pulled a cloth rag out of her 'slushy clean up kit' and started wiping Quinn's face, albeit very tentatively, afraid that Quinn wouldn't want a weirdo touching her. To her relief, Quinn just stood there and allowed Rachel to clean her up. Quinn, however, couldn't resist making a jibe at her.

"You know, you're cute when you get all defensive like that." _Cute? What the hell, where did that come from? Well.. she kinda is... No! Stop it! Do not even go there! _"Ah... I-i mean... uh..."

"Thank you Quinn. I was afraid you would think I was being weird or something."

"Oh, you're definitely weird, Rachel."

Both of the girls started giggling uncontrollably. They didn't know why, the situation just seemed to call for it. Maybe it was a release of all the tension they were holding in from being in such an awkward situation.

"Okay, Quinn. Now lay your head down into the sink and let me wash your hair."

"Rachel, you're going to be late for your next class."

"It's fine, Quinn. I always prepare for my classes three weeks in advance, so missing one won't matter so much. And I'm sure Mercedes will inform me if the teacher assigns homework."

"Oh, okay."

Quinn stayed silent the whole time that Rachel was washing her hair. She was officially friendless at this point. Finn and Sam hated her for toying with them. Santana was obviously no longer by her side, seeing as she stole Sam away from her. Brittany was great but she had sort of drifted away from them for awhile now, becoming her own person with this trendsetting thing. Mercedes... well, she had lost touch with her ever since she moved out of her house last year. Puck was out, given the drama between them last year and she really wasn't close with Mike, Tina, Artie or Lauren. All that was left was Rachel...

Quinn was really confused now. Ever since she didn't take Rachel up on her offer of friendship last year, they had just been dancing around one another, neither of them wanting to raise up any old animosity between them. Any banter between them was very mild, with Quinn calling Rachel out on her ego and Rachel commenting on Quinn's incessant need to keep herself popular.

Now here she was, crying in the bathroom with Rachel washing slushy out of her hair. She felt as though she had traveled back in time. Well, the people and the circumstances were different, but the overall situation remained the same. It was as if the universe had given her a second chance at becoming friends with Rachel, that is if Rachel were still open to it...

"Rach?"

"Just a minute Quinn, I'm almost done rinsing your hair." Rachel rinsed the last of the shampoo out, then took a towel from her kit and started drying Quinn's hair.

"I'm sorry, you were saying...?"

"Um.. well, remember last year, just before sectionals. You had just told Finn that the baby wasn't his..." Rachel winced at the memory.

"Look, Quinn, I'm sor-" Quinn put a finger to the brunettes lips, silencing her.

"It's not about that. I'm talking about our conversation afterward." Rachel's eyes widened as comprehension dawned on her. Then her expression softened.

"If you're talking about my offer of friendship, then that offer still stands, Quinn. I've already forgiven you for everything you've done to me in the past and I've also seen how hard you have been trying to change this year. Granted you strayed off the path towards the end there, but that could be accounted to your deep-seated insecurities about remaining popular. In fact, given our current situations, I feel that it will be mutually beneficial for both of us to start off a friendship now. What I mean is-" Quinn held up a hand to stop the diva's rambling.

"I would really like to be friends, Rachel. But could we maybe talk about this later? We both still have classes to get to."

Rachel pouted.

"Fine." Then she broke out in a wide grin. "I know! Why don't you have dinner with me and my dads at my house later tonight. We can talk as much as we want afterward."

"It's a date, Berry." Realizing what she said, Quinn felt the heat in her cheeks rise once more. How many times could she blush in one day, let alone in an hour? Smacking herself internally in the head, she tried to amend her statement. "What I mean is not a 'date' date, but just... you know... a date?" _Wait a minute. That still doesn't sound right. Stupid, stupid!_

In the meantime Rachel was trying valiantly trying not to laugh as Quinn was so obviously flustered. Who knew that Quinn was so awkward when not keeping up her HBIC persona? Rachel decided to spare Quinn from further embarrassing herself and interrupted the floundering blonde.

"Relax, Quinn. I know what you meant. I'll see you later in Glee, okay? Then I'll drive you over to my house."

Quinn nodded silently.

"Oh, wait you've still got a bit of slushy left on your ear... "

Rachel leaned forward, her cheek brushing against Quinn's... and gave a quick lick to Quinn's ear. Pulling back, Rachel gave Quinn a wink and said "I told you I really like grape!" before jauntily bounding out of the bathroom, leaving a very shocked and confused Quinn behind her.


	2. Restless

**A/N: I've really shocked myself by jumping into this one. I usually do a lot of research and planning before attempting something of this length. I actually have plans mapped out for other multi-chaptered fics that I want to write in the future, however this one just kept nagging at my brain. Anyways, please read and review. It will really help for when the time comes for me to work on my novel. :)**

**Chapter 2**

Rachel was restless.

She didn't know what came over her earlier. Sure, she and Quinn had agreed to become friends, but come on, she licked Quinn's ear! That may have been overstepping the bounds of their newly formed friendship just a teensy-weensy little bit. Okay, a lot. But she was just playing around, she didn't really _mean_ anything by it.

Rachel tried to calm herself down by focusing on the notebook in front of her. AP Calculus was too mundane and she was too distracted to listen to the teacher. Instead she concentrated on writing an anthem that New Directions for Regionals. Finn was right. The only way she could get the Glee club to accept her idea of an original song was to make one herself and shove it down her throats. After all, she was only looking out for the best interests of Glee club. But of course, Glee club mattered to her the most, because it was a stepping stone to her future. This wasn't just a hobby, this was her life.

But Rachel had grown somewhat in the past year. Not _literally. _She was still as short as ever, although it _was _ mind-boggling that Sunshine Corazon was shorter than her. No, Rachel had sort of matured in the way she related to other people. Up until a year and a half ago, she had no friends to speak of. Understandable, since Quinn had placed her at the bottom of the social ladder. And even before that, her classmates had always picked on her for having two gay dads and an unfortunate fashion sense. But when she joined New Directions, and with all the drama that happened that school year, she somehow ended up with friends. She had even gone through two boyfriends in the past year (not counting Puck, they never officially _dated_). She was still at the bottom of the food chain, but now she had people who would support her when she was feeling low. Well, sometimes. They still she shot her down whenever she would try to propose something during Glee club.

She didn't realize that the class was over, until she noticed everyone around her gathering their bags and shuffling to the door, still in that foggy, math-induced stupor that the class always seemed to bring down on people. Rachel, chuckled internally at the sight. Her classmates reminded her of when New Directions plus the football team were practicing for _Thriller_ several weeks ago. Then she quickly sobered.

It was time for Glee. Where Quinn would be.

Rachel fervently hoped that Quinn wouldn't misconstrue her actions earlier. She never knew how to act around Quinn, much less have any idea how to be her friend. She realized now that she never really _knew_ Quinn. All Rachel had ever experienced before was the HBIC or, when Quinn was pregnant, a teenage girl lashing out because of her pregnancy hormones. Now that the blonde was low on the totem pole and all on her own, Rachel didn't know what to make of her.

She was sitting now in the choir room, still deep in thought, when she noticed Quinn enter through the doorway. She gave Rachel a small shaky smile, but that was enough. Rachel sighed in relief and returned Quinn's smile with one of her own, which quickly turned into a smirk at the sight of what the ex-Cheerio was wearing. Apparently, the spare clothing from her slushy kit was actually another carousel horse sweater, only this time it was yellow. Ironic, but it suited Quinn. Quinn plopped down on the seat next her and muttered "Hey", not quite meeting Rachel's eyes. Rachel noticed Quinn's slight discomfort, so she leaned toward Quinn and opened her mouth to speak.

"Quinn?" Quinn's head snapped toward her.

"Yes?" Quinn's sudden movement brought their faces so close together that their noses were almost touching. Their eyes locked. Rachel immediately forgot what she was going to say. She had been this close to Quinn before, when they were having heated arguments, but she had never noticed how beautiful Quinn's eyes were. They were both so caught up in each other that they didn't notice Mr. Schuester enter the choir room, followed by the rest of the Glee club.

"Hey guys."

Mr. Schuester's voice suddenly brought both of them out of their moment. They quickly faced away from each other, both of them suddenly needing to breathe as if they had been holding their breath for quite awhile. Rachel had no idea what just happened. Quinn's eyes were just _so_ _easy _to get lost in. Luckily, none of the other Gleeks seemed to think there was anything wrong, they just assumed that she and Quinn were having another stare-off over some petty little thing.

Rachel and Quinn were barely listening to what Mr Schue was rambling about until-

"-Sue Sylvester is now coach of Aural Intensity."

That brought Rachel back down to earth in a hurry as the choir room burst into chaos at this announcement..

"Mr. Schue, is this some kind of joke? Coach Sylvester works for McKinley. There's no way she would be allowed to coach a rival team such as Aural Intensity."

"I don't know how she managed it, Rachel, but apparently she can. I'll try to protest this before the Ohio Show Choir Governing Board, but you know how difficult it is to go up against Sue."

"Mr. Schue, in light of recent developments, I feel that we should revisit my former suggestion that we use an original song for Regionals. There is no way now that we could use a song that Coach Sylvester personally picked out for us."

Mercedes piped up.

"Oh, come on Rachel. We already voted on this. I'm not going to get roped into one of your crazy ego trips. Can't we just pick another song? There's no way I'm going to play second fiddle to you again."

Quinn was seething at this moment. She knew that she had just barely begun a friendship with the tiny diva, but somehow she was already feeling very protective of her. Just as she was about to give Mercedes a piece of her mind, Finn spoke up.

"Hey guys, I think we should give Rachel a chance. She knows more about music than any of the rest of us combined, including Mr Schue. We should trust her judgment on this one."

"Trust the midget's judgment?" Santana chimed in. "I'd rather choke on Berry's reindeer sweater than sing anything the smurf creates."

"Santana, you were wearing the same kind of sweater yesterday."

"It was a carousel horse sweater, Yentl. It was hot. Anyway, you're still just bitter that I got the solo last time."

Rachel just huffed, crossed her arms and pouted.

Quinn was glad that Finn had stood up for Rachel. However, she was still a bit put out, because she wanted to be the one to defend Rachel Meanwhile, Artie slowly raised his hand from the other side of the room.

"How about this, Mr. Schue? Maybe some of us could work with Rachel to make sure everything is fair with the song."

"Artie, that's a great idea! Okay, show of hands people, who wants to work on the song with Rachel?"

Nobody raised their hand. Everybody turned to look at Artie. He raised his hands defensively.

"Hey, it was just an idea. Doesn't mean I want to do it."

"I'll do it." Quinn had finally found her voice. Everybody turned away from Artie and looked at Quinn as though aliens had abducted her and replaced her with a dysfunctional robot clone.

Will Schuester realized that he was also staring at Quinn with his mouth agape and quickly closed it. _Rachel and Quinn? _He had couldn't quite picture the two of them working together. Nevertheless...

"Alright! It's settled then. Quinn will be working with Rachel on a song for Regionals. That will be all for today. Good luck ladies."

"Thanks, Mr. Schue. We'll keep you posted. And thank you Quinn" Rachel gave Quinn a quick kiss on the cheek, then grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the room, practically dragging the blushing Quinn through the door. Leaving a still open mouthed Glee club behind them. It took a while before Mercedes finally spoke up.

"What the hell just happened?"

"I'm officially about to gag right now" Santana.

"That was hot."

"PUCK!" Everyone screamed.

**A/N: Okay, I admit I rushed a bit with this one. I tend to get ahead of myself when visualizing a story. I'll try to get the next one posted up wthin the next day or so.**


	3. Nervous

**A/N: I'm really, really sorry. I should have posted this two days ago, but weekends are actually the most hectic time for me. I could only find the odd hour or two to write. I actually fell asleep writing this chapter. Twice. Though it has to do more with the fact that I type while laying back on my bed, with my laptop balanced on my chest. (Yeah, I'm lazy like that.) Good thing I'm not a restless sleeper. I've fallen asleep with a laptop on my chest a countless number of times over the years and not once has it ever fallen off. Talk about sleeping like a log! Anyways, thanks so much for your patience and I hope you like this chapter. (There's a very obscure reference down there, see if you can spot it!) **

**A/N2: I know, I know. Third chapter already and I'm still on the first day. Don't worry, I'll speed it up in the following chapters. I just have to get through this day. By the way, thanks so much to all of you who reviewed this fic! Those reviews have really encouraged me to keep on writing. I hope you'll keep reading!**

**Chapter 3**

Quinn was nervous.

So much had happened today. She had received the first slushying since the time when she was pregnant, become friends with Rachel and volunteered to work with her on a song for Regionals. To top it all off, Rachel had licked her ear and kissed her on the cheek. Twice. All on the same day.

_15 minutes ago..._

_Rachel had a firm grip on Quinn's arm, almost dragging her out of the choir room in a rush to get to her locker. Quinn, previously caught up in a whirlwind of emotions over what happened earlier, finally managed to land on her feet._

"_Rach? Why are we in a hurry?"_

_The tiny brunette suddenly stopped, almost causing Quinn to crash into her. She whirled around and gave the blonde a strange look. Quinn realized what she had just called, Rachel._

"_I-i-" Rachel put a finger on Quinn's lips, silencing the flustered blonde and gave her a dazzling 100 watt smile. She leaned forward until her lips were almost by Quinn's ear. Quinn almost thought that Rachel was going to lick her again._

"_It's okay, Quinn. You can call me anything you want." Rachel whispered._

_Rachel pulled back slowly, the side of her lips gently brushing Quinn's cheek, ending at the corner of the blonde's now very dry mouth. Quinn could have sworn she felt a bit of pressure at the end there, but she managed to convince herself that she was imagining things._

_Rachel straightened up and looked Quinn in the eye. An action that oddly made the blonde's knees a bit weak. Or it could just be that she was now feeling the effects of the loss of blood from the rest of her body as a whole lot of it had rushed to her head in the many times that she had blushed today... '_Yeah' _Quinn thought. _'Let's go with that...' _Rachel's voice jerked her back to the present._

"_I'm just so excited to get home, Quinn. Now that Glee club has approved my proposal, I have a bunch of ideas I want to run past you after dinner. It's a good thing I already invited you to come over, huh? Oh! I have to get the PowerPoint presentation ready! And maybe a lesson or two in music theory is in order... "_

Back to the present...

It was almost too much to take in. Now, she was riding in the passenger seat of Rachel's car, tuning out Rachel's rambling as they headed over to the Berry's (Berries'?) house for dinner.

Quinn was confused at Rachel's invasion of her personal space. She didn't know if the brunette was flirting with her or if she was just a touchy-feely kind of person. She had never seen Rachel act around anyone like that, even with her previous boyfriends.

No. She refused to believe that Rachel would ever flirt with her. It was already a miracle for Rachel to forgive her their past, let alone offer her her friendship. And besides the brunette was straight. She had had two boyfriends, for crying out loud. Puckerman was even able to charm her enough to get her to make out with him. _ Not that I would ever be interested in her in that way. Hmm... No! No! Why would I even try to ruin what seems to be the start of a beautiful friendship? Oh my God! Did I just quote Casablanca? Okay, focus. Focus. I'll just go over the facts again..._

Quinn suddenly realized that she hadn't seen Rachel hang around with any real friends long enough to compare with her own situation. Jesse and Finn were boyfriends, so that did not count. The blonde knew that Rachel hung out with Kurt and Mercedes from time to time. But since Rachel hadn't become friends with Kurt until he moved to Dalton, she never had a chance to see them together. And Mercedes fell more into the category of frienemies than anything else. It saddened Quinn to know that she was the reason that Rachel never had any real friends before last year.

However, all of that didn't matter right now. What mattered was that Quinn didn't mind at all when Rachel invaded her personal space. She even sorta kinda liked it. Quinn supposed that she was just happy to have at least one friend, now that she was down in the dumps again.

Quinn also dreaded meeting Rachel's dads. She didn't know if Rachel had talked to her fathers about her in the past. It was too much to hope that both of Rachel's fathers would be as forgiving as her. Her head was swimming with possible ways of ducking a skirmish with one or more of them, ranging from self-righteous denial to just bursting into tears and groveling in front of them in order to gain even _some_ small measure of sympathy.

This was it. They had reached Rachel's house. Rachel took out a set of keys from her pocket and unlocked the front door. But instead of opening it like a normal person, Rachel pushed it open and burst through the doorway, shouting "Ohh, Daaaaddy, I'm hoooome!" in her best Ricky Ricardo impression, which Quinn had to admit was a total _fail_. A man's head popped out from an opening to the side, which Quinn assumed led to the kitchen.

"Rachel! You're here! I'll be out in a minute, I'm almost done here. I made your favorite: vegan eggplant lasagna. Oh, and Hiram will be home any minute now. " Rachel clapped excitedly.

"Oh, goody! Why don't you make yourself comfortable Quinn, I'll just put our bags away in my room." Without waiting for a response, Rachel grabbed both of their bags and bounded up the stairs.

Quinn heard the sound of some pots bustling around the kitchen, as she took a look around in the room she was now standing in. She grew up hearing the stories her father made up about the Berrys. Listing their home as a 'den of iniquity' or a 'sanctum of sin' among other things. Quinn knew that what her father said was borne out of prejudice, but she was still half-surprised that this room looked so _normal._ Except maybe for the numerous photos of Rachel and her dads that almost seemed to fight each other for wallspace right in front of her eyes. Suddenly, her line of sight was interrupted by a tall African-American that now stood in front of her.

"Hello. I didn't notice you before. Although, Rachel did mention that she was going to bring a friend over." He held out his hand and gave her a smile."My name is Leroy, one of Rachel's dads, obviously."

Quinn was frozen in place. The man looked terrifying, up close. She just stared at Leroy's outstretched hand as if it would grow scales and claws any second and try to rip her face off.

"And you are?" Leroy prompted when Quinn didn't take his hand..

"Q-quinn. Quinn Fabray." Leroy's warm smile visibly faltered.

"Fabray? As in _the _Quinn Fabray?"

_Oh God_ Quinn thought. _He knows everything._ Quinn sank to her knees and burst into tears. _I guess it's tears and groveling then._

"I know I've been horrible to Rachel in the past, but I'm really, really sorry about that, sir. It's one of my biggest regrets." Quinn sobbed harder. " But somehow Rachel forgave me, and if you could please, please, _please_ give me a chance, I swear I'll make it up to her, starting by being her friend. I'll do whatever it takes, if I could just be a source of happiness for her instead of torment."

"WHAT IS GOING ON?" Rachel was standing at the foot of the stairs, not quite believing the spectacle she was seeing before her. At the same time, the front door burst open and a skinny bespectacled man came charging in shouting "Leeeeerooooy!", fists raised in the air. It was quite obvious where Rachel's flair for the dramatic came from. However, the sight of his husband standing awkwardly in their living room with a strange blonde-haired girl kneeling before him and sobbing loudly immediately stopped Hiram in his tracks, his fists still raised and his jaw going slack. Then his brain kicked in.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN HERE?"

"U-um, Honey? This is Quinn Fabray." It took a second before the name registered in Hiram's brain.

"Oh." Then his eyes narrowed. "Leroy Marvin Berry, have you been giving this poor girl a hard time?" Leroy raised his hands defensively.

"No! No!" he said quite hastily. "I swear she just broke down all on her own."

Quinn couldn't stop crying. It was almost like her baby hormones had come back, as a whole lot of mixed emotions rushed through her. So much had happened today and it was overwhelming her. Hiram hurried over to the blonde and put his arms around her.

"Sweetie, it's okay the bad man's not going to hurt you anymore." he cooed.

"Hey!"

Hiram just shot his husband a glare in reply, then looked back at the girl in his arms and sighed.

"Really it's okay Quinn. Yes, Rachel has told us everything. But it also means that she has told us _everything. _ And if Rachel can forgive you, then so can we. Now, why don't we go have some dinner. I'm sure you're starving. Though I suppose Rachel has to find something else to talk about during dinner other than you, now that you're here."

"I'm standing right here you know. In case you've all forgotten." Three pairs of eyes swiveled towards the direction of the voice and landed on the huffing diva, standing at the foot of the stairs with her arms crossed, one foot tapping, looking for all the world like a teacher who had just caught one of her students cheating on a test. The two Berrys (Berries?) plus Quinn blushed simultaneously. They did sort of forget that Rachel was standing there, caught up as they were 'in the moment'. Rachel broke into a smirk. (Quinn started to think that it was sexy, but quashed the thought almost immediately.)

"Come on, stop horsing around and let's eat. I'm quite hungry. Oh and by the way Quinn, this is my Dad, Leroy and my Daddy, Hiram." Rachel said cheerfully. And the four of them shuffled toward the dining room to eat.

Quinn was in heaven. This may be vegan eggplant lasagna, but it was simply _marvelous_. It was _almost _as heavenly as her beloved bacon. She quickly finished her plate and went back for seconds.

"Well, Rachel." Hiram piped up. "It looks like you have some competition there for the eggplant lasagna."

"That's okay, I'm willing to share."

Hiram and Leroy goggled at the brunette, not quite believing their ears. When it came to Leroy's special eggplant lasagna, the brunette was anything but 'willing to share'. In fact, several years ago, at the annual Berry family reunion, they had had to extract Rachel from a pile up with some of her cousins. It turned out that she had been keeping the other cousins from getting any of the lasagna, hogging it all to herself. That was the first and last time they ever served that dish in public.

Leroy changed the subject.

"So, Quinn. What are your intentions for our daughter here?"

Quinn paled and promptly fainted. Apparently, the constant flow of blood in and out of her face was too much for the girl to handle. This earned Leroy two smacks in the head from his husband and daughter.

"Dad! Look at what you've done!"

"How was I supposed to know?"

**Several hours later**

Quinn woke up in bed. She'd been having a very strange dream. She couldn't remember all of it but it had something to do with reindeer and argyle. She checked the clock by the bed. Midnight. She groaned, then did a double take. That wasn't her clock. This wasn't even her bed. There was a warmth on her belly and she lifted up the covers to see an arm that wasn't hers draped over her midsection. She quickly rolled over and came face to face with the brunette who was sleeping beside her. Rachel. This was Rachel's room. Quinn gently prodded the sleeping diva.

"Rachel, Rachel." she whispered.

The girl in question cracked open an eye.

"Yes, Quinn?"

"What happened? Last thing I remember, we were having dinner and now I just woke up to find myself in your bed." Rachel gave Quinn a soft smile.

"You fainted, sweetie. Dad carried you up here." Quinn started to freak out. Her mom was gonna kill her. She didn't even notice Rachel's use of a nickname.

"Rachel, I have to-"

"Shh, Quinn. It's all taken care of. We already called your mom and told her you were staying here. And tomorrow's the weekend, so we don't have to worry about school or anything." Quinn deflated.

"Oh, okay." Quinn's eyes flicked down to her waist then settled back on Rachel. "Um, Rach. Your arm..."

"Oh, sorry" Rachel started to pull away, but Quinn grabbed her arm.

"No, it's okay. Keep it there. It feels nice." Rachel relaxed and let out a sigh of relief. Quinn snuggled closer, resting her forehead on Rachel's, snaking her own arm around the tiny brunette. "Is this okay?" she inquired. "Mhm. Very much so." Rachel replied."I know it's only been a day, but I feel so comfortable around you." Quinn giggled internally. 'Comfortable ' didn't even begin to describe Rachel's behavior towards her in the past day. She kissed Rachel's cheek.

"I know, Rach. Me too."

**A/N: I know it's whole lot of Faberry sweetness, but I just couldn't resist. I made sure to put in lots of Faberry!denial though. I did say eventual Faberry right? It would be absurd for them to get together after only one day. And anyways, time is going to speed up considerably in the following chapters to allow for development. It's Monday now in my timezone, and it's my day off, so I have time to write the next chapter/s. Stay tuned!**

**P.S. OMG! It's kiarcheo and Stessa! Squee! Kyaa! I love you guys! Thanks so much for reviewing my story!**


	4. Giddy

**A/N: I was debating with myself over whether this would be a songfic chapter and if I would use one of my original compositions. But I remembered what I hate most about songfics is that it's hard to read if you don't know the song. (I guess if enough of you requested it, I could post a one-shot side-story with my song, but no promises here.) So for now, I'm just going to skip over the singing part. I'm starting to bog down a bit, so I'll probably end this in a few more chapters. I also want to start working on some of my other stories.**

**Chapter 4**

Rachel was giddy.

Today was the day Rachel and Quinn had been waiting for. Today was the day they were going to present their song in Glee club.

So much had happened in the past three weeks since she found Quinn in the bathroom, face covered in slushy and tears. Since then, she and Quinn had become the best of friends. They watched movies together, (Quinn found out right away that Rachel liked romantic comedies as much as musicals, so she kept bringing over DVD's for them to watch.) They slept over quite frequently at each other's houses, and Judy absolutely _adored _Rachel. Quinn was still wary around Leroy, however. Rachel suspected that this was because Quinn was still slightly traumatized from their first encounter at the Berry house.

The two girls had gotten very close. They were constantly hugging and kissing each other, (on the cheek, of course!) even holding hands whenever they were walking together. Rumors started flying around the school about them, but they didn't care. Being around each other made them happy and society be damned if it was going to take it away from them. At least the slushies had all but stopped. Sue Sylvester was no longer around that much, so the Cheerios were all but disbanded for the year. Santana and Sam were officially the new power couple of McKinley and, at Sam's insistence, Glee club was off limits.

Rachel and Quinn had been working on the song for more than two weeks now. They realized that they had to get it done quick if they were going to have a performance ready by the time Regionals swung around. They had a rough start of it at first because Rachel kept insisting that she had to give Quinn lessons first. After Rachel caught Quinn for the third time, spacing out whilst going through a 147 slide presentation, resulting in a massive argument, they agreed to just let Rachel handle the music, with Quinn working out the arrangement and the choreography.

They agreed beforehand that they would present the song as a duet, though that didn't matter since they were going to split up the solos for the other Glee members when it came to rehearsal anyway. But Rachel felt that since they had both put in work on the song, it belonged to both of them and that both of them should perform it.

Glee was about to start and Rachel couldn't find Quinn anywhere. She knew that Quinn had English last period, but it seems that the class let out early. Rachel kept on searching. She even checked the bathrooms on the off chance that maybe Crystal was still harboring a grudge against Quinn and got up the courage to slushy Quinn against orders. She finally reached the football field before she spotted a blonde haired figure sitting on the bleachers. Rachel squinted. It was Quinn alright.

Quinn was so deep in thought, she didn't even notice Rachel approaching her. Rachel plopped down next to her.

"Hi." Quinn's eyes flickered toward her, then, seemingly unfazed by Rachel's presence, looked out into the distance.

"Hi."

"Quinn? What's wrong? Glee's about to start." Quinn kept staring off into the distance.

"You know, I've always envied you Rachel." Rachel frowned in confusion.

"Why?"

"You were, _are,_ always so sure of yourself and where you're going. And even though we all treated you horribly and made fun of you, you still kept your head high. You've always had these big dreams and I'm pretty sure you're going to live those dreams someday too."

"Quinn, what is this about?"

"We were assigned an essay topic in English today. We have to write about what we want to do and where we want to be in the future. And I- I realized that I don't know what I want anymore.

"My life used to revolve around what my parents wanted me to be, but after the pregnancy, it all fell apart. I was no longer head Cheerio, my parents kicked me out and no one wanted me to stay with them. Except for Mercedes, of course. After Beth was born, I promised myself that I'd never put myself in that position again. So I worked all summer to lose my baby fat, so that I could get back into the Cheerios. I thought I could get my life back. All I needed was to be popular again." Quinn snorted bitterly.

"I was stupid back then. High school is only temporary. Being popular for 4 years just to make my life easier was not much of a goal. I've realized now that high school should be a time to find yourself, before you head out into the world. Instead, most of us get stuck in our own heads, concerned about power, status or even just surviving high school. I thank God everyday that you were in the bathroom that day. Because of you I'm unstuck. Now I've just got to decide where to go."

Rachel reached out and lifted Quinn's chin, bringing them eye to eye.

"Quinn, you've still got time to think about this. And from what I can see, you can do anything you want to do. I believe in you. I'm also willing to help you in anyway I can." Quinn turned to face Rachel, eyes starting to tear up.

"I just don't know where to even start."

Rachel brushed back a strand of Quinn's hair, ending up with her hand on Quinn's cheek.

"How about you try this: Close your eyes." Quinn obeyed. "Now, try to imagine where you will be in 10 years. What do you see?"

Quinn thought hard, until finally, a single picture emerged. She opened her eyes. What she saw in her head was the exact same thing she was seeing right now. She didn't have all the answers yet, but that would come later. It was now painfully clear to her in which direction her life was headed.

Rachel saw the look on Quinn's face and it seemed that the blonde had come to some measure of understanding with herself. She took her hand from Quinn's face and stood up. She offered the blonde her hand.

"Come on, Quinn. We still have to be in Glee. Are you ready to sing with me?"

Quinn took the brunette's proffered hand and gave Rachel a smile.

"Always."

And they walked back to the choir room, hand in hand.

* * *

Their song was a hit with New Directions. Everyone seemed to enjoy the performance and congratulated the two afterward. Mr. Schuester even decided to keep most of it as a duet since he didn't want to ruin the level of energy and chemistry that the two girls brought to the song. There were a lot of protests to this idea at first, but no one was able to deny that Rachel and Quinn just had a _connection_ while on the stage.

The two girls were so excited that everyone approved of their song that they started hugging and jumping for joy in front of the whole club. This went on for a bit longer than was socially acceptable as neither girl wanted to let go of the other. They only snapped out of it when Puck started shouting "More, more!". They hurriedly let go of each other and stood awkwardly side by side, blushing profusely, avoiding eye contact with each other.

Puck was shamelessly leering at them. He reasoned out that even though he was still madly in love with Lauren, it wasn't a sin to appreciate the finer things in life, right? Sam and Santana were just sitting in the back row huffing at the fact that Rachel and Quinn were going to be the ones who would dominate the stage. Finn was alternating between being slightly upset at the fact that two of his ex-girlfriends were now so close to each other and closing his eyes and chanting "Mailman, mailman" under his breath. Mr. Schuester immediately dismissed the club after announcing that they would start rehearsals next week.

As the others were filing out, Rachel turned to Quinn and asked "Hey Quinn. It's Saturday tomorrow. Wanna come for a sleepover?" (Unbeknownst to them, Puck overheard this and started drooling at the thought.) Quinn just shook her head.

"I think I'll just head home for the night, if that's okay. I have some things I need to talk about with my Mom." Rachel's face fell slightly at this, but then her smile returned.

"Maybe we can hang out together some time tomorrow?" she said hopefully. Quinn nodded.

"Yes, that would be great. I'll text you later with the details." Rachel leaned over and they hugged. Then they finally waved each other goodbye as they headed off to their respective cars.

Quinn was nervous by the time she got home. She had pretty big news to tell her mother and she wasn't sure how she would take it.

She took a deep breath and entered the house. Judy was sitting in the living room, watching television. She looked up, when she heard Quinn.

"Hey, sweetie. How was your day?" Quinn squared her shoulders and took a deep breath.

"Mom, can we talk?" Judy smiled, turned off the television and patted the seat next to her.

"Of course, dear. What is it?" Quinn sat down, facing her mother.

"First of all, mine and Rachel's song got picked to be one of New Directions' performances for Regionals." Judy clapped in excitement and hugged her daughter heartily.

"Oh, I'm so proud of you. I'm sure it will be a wonderful performance." Quinn just plowed on.

"Um, Mom? There's also something else..." Judy paused. Something in her daughter's voice made her seem... distressed.

"What is it, sweetie? You know you can tell me anything."

"I-I think I'm gay." That stopped Judy right in her tracks. Quinn spent the next two minutes in dread silence as she waited for her mom to speak. Finally Judy opened her mouth to speak.

"Is it... Is it Rachel?" Quinn just nodded.

"A-and are you two...?" Quinn shook her head.

"She doesn't know, Mom." Judy pursed her lips.

"Sweetie, maybe this is just... you know.. a phase?" Quinn held up her hand.

"Mom, no. I'm pretty sure this isn't just a phase. I've had some time to think earlier. I've just been making excuses to myself for all this time, when I actually knew the truth about myself all along. I'm gay and nothing's going to change that. I was just so deep in denial that I couldn't see it for myself, until recently."

Judy took a breath.

"I... I think you should leave, Quinn." Upon seeing the horrified look on Quinn's face, she hastily amended herself. "I'm not kicking you out, Quinn. I don't ever want to make you go through that again. I just need some time alone with myself to wrap my head around this. Maybe, you could spend the weekend at Rachel's?" She offered, wanting to convey to Quinn that she was willing to trust her daughter with this new development in her life. "This is going to be difficult for me to accept, Quinn. But all I want is for you to be happy. I'll get there. You just have to give me some time."

"Okay. I love you, Mom." Judy drew her daughter into a hug.

"I love you too, Quinnie."

Quinn went and called Rachel, telling her that she was going to come over after all. The brunette quickly confirmed it with her Dad, who simply agreed, used to Quinn and Rachel having impromptu sleepovers. Leroy was surprised at first when Rachel showed up for the third night in a row with Quinn by her side announcing that she'd be spending the night yet again. But now, he was just glad that his daughter had finally found a person that she could call her best friend.

_Although,_ Leroy mused. _There are times when I think there's something more going on with those two. _He shook his head. He was pretty sure that both girls were straight. Maybe it was just wishful thinking on his part. Because if there was a person he could ever pick to be with Rachel, it would be Quinn. Quinn was the only person he had ever met that could stop Rachel in the middle of a rant and calm her down just by smiling at her.

Quinn, quickly got into her car and drove over to Rachel's house. She didn't bother to pack. After several nights of being dragged by Rachel into sleepovers, she decided to just keep some clothes over at the Berry house. After all, she didn't want to spend the next day wearing one of Rachel's animal sweaters. (Those were the only things in Rachel's closet that fit her.) And the skirts that were normally short on Rachel were positively scandalous on Quinn.

The first day that Quinn ended up borrowing Rachel's clothes, she got into a fight with Santana when the Latina commented that she looked like some kind of a slutty Nancy Drew. Quinn was deeply offended by that; she loved Nancy Drew. Sam trying to break up the fight only ended up escalating it, since his break up with Quinn was still fresh then, especially since it was Santana that stole him away.

Quinn reached the Berry house. When Rachel opened the door, Quinn immediately flew into her arms, desperately needing a hug.

"Quinn? Is there something wrong."

"Could we maybe talk about it later, Rach? I just want to have a quiet evening right now."

Rachel leaned back a little bit, and gently caressed Quinn's cheek.

"Anything you want, ok? Just remember that I'm here for you." The two girls resumed the hug. A few seconds later Leroy walked out of the kitchen.

"Girls, dinner is ready. Rachel could you please call Hiram? He's taking a nap upstairs. And Quinn, could you help me set the table?"

"Okay, Dad." Rachel extricated herself from Quinn. She bounded up the stairs leaving Quinn and Leroy alone. Leroy turned to Quinn.

"Come on Quinn. Why don't you get the plates and I'll handle the utensils?" Quinn shuffled her feet nervously.

"Mr. Berry?"

"Please, honey. You're here almost everyday. Please call me Leroy."

"Okay, Leroy? Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Sure."

"How did your parents handle it when you told them you were gay?" Leroy smiled. _Well, well. _ _Interesting question. I may have been wrong. Or right, depending on how you look at it._ He gestured towards the plates and they started setting the table.

"My parents were quite supportive actually. They believe that love shouldn't be restricted by anything, whether it be by race, religion or gender." Seeing an apprehensive look on Quinn's face, he also added. "And yes, Quinn, they are Christian, same as you." Quinn pondered this for a moment and Leroy continued on.

"Why are you asking this, Quinn?" Quinn looked as if she was bursting to say what was on her mind, but Leroy immediately noticed her discomfort and reached out to pat Quinn on the hand.

"It's okay, sweetie. You don't have to tell me, though I must inform you that Rachel inherited her sixth sense from me. It comes in handy in my line of work." Quinn realized that she didn't know what Leroy did. She knew that Hiram was a doctor, that's why he sometimes came home late and was at times so exhausted that he took frequent naps when he was home. But Quinn had only ever seen Leroy around the house as he was always there when she and Rachel arrived from school.

"Mr. Berry." Leroy frowned. "I'm sorry, Leroy. Forgive me for not knowing, but what is it exactly that you do?" Leroy laughed.

"I'm a psychiatrist, dear." His eyes gleamed."I specialize in counseling troubled teens." Quinn half-winced, half-smiled at the irony of the situation.

Leroy took Quinn's hand.

"If you ever feel the need to talk, I'm right here. Of course, you might feel more comfortable talking to Rachel. She's a good listener, when she's not ranting." Quinn smiled and thanked Leroy just as Rachel and Hiram walked into the dining room.

"I'm sorry we took so long, but Daddy was being rather troublesome to get out of bed."

"I was going to get up. But then you decided you could start a tickle fight." Rachel stuck her tongue out.

"That was your own fault. You were taking too long." Hiram huffed, crossed his arms and also stuck his tongue out. Leroy merely rolled his eyes, and shook his hands at the heavens, mouthing _Why, why?_ Quinn tried to stifle a laugh. She just loved being around the Berries. They had a rapport with each other in a way she never would have with her own family.

* * *

After dinner, the two girls ended up upstairs, curled up in Rachel's bed, just simply _being_ together. They had reached a point where there were never any more awkward silences when they were with each other. They also discovered early on that they both were big fans of snuggling and decided that since they were off boys for a while, then they would just rely on each other for their snuggling needs. After a few minutes of this, Rachel spoke up.

"It's still early, Quinn. Do you maybe wanna watch a movie? I think I can dig out some vegan ice cream from the freezer. It's chocolate flavored, so it doesn't taste too different."

Quinn nodded and reached for her bag. Quinn usually rented a movie right before going to Rachel's house since she didn't care much for Rachel's collection of musicals. (Though Rachel was furious at this when it first came up.) Quinn just went to this little video store not far from where she lived, and just picked out a movie at random from the romantic comedy section. Quinn pulled out a DVD from her bag and Rachel's eyes nearly bugged out at the label.

"Quinn? Do you know what this movie is about?" Quinn shook her head.

"No. But it's got Piper Perabo in it and I like her work. Why? Is it bad?"

"It's actually a good movie Quinn, I just don't think it might be your style..." Quinn was confused.

"And why is that?"

"Maybe we should just watch it."

Rachel hopped off the bed and went downstairs to get the ice cream. Meanwhile, Quinn loaded the disc into Rachel's DVD player. Curious, Quinn looked over the box more thoroughly. There was nothing in the synopsis in the back to suggest anything out of the ordinary although the picture at the front was slightly confusing. Piper Perabo was kissing this cute guy while holding another woman held her hand behind the back of another guy. Quinn supposed that this other woman would be the best friend that helps Piper when she would be caught between two guys. It seemed like a fairly straightforward movie.

Rachel returned with a big bowl of ice cream and they settled into their favorite position while watching a movie. With Rachel sitting in between Quinn's legs, leaning into her with the bowl in her lap, while Quinn held the spoon and alternated between feeding herself and Rachel. The opening credits started to roll and the title 'Imagine Me and You' came up.

"Rachel?"

"Yeah?"

"Is the title of the movie from that song...?"

"Yeah. But that's not important right now."

"Huh? Then wh-"

"Shh., Quinn. Just watch."

A few minutes into the movie and it all became clear to Quinn. She almost dropped the spoon onto Rachel's lap. Oh. _Oh._ Suddenly Quinn was very aware of what she was doing. She had only admitted her feelings for Rachel to herself a few hours earlier. She wasn't even sure if Rachel would even like her in _that _way. Now here she was with her arms and legs wrapped around Rachel, feeding her ice cream from a bowl and watching a _lesbian_ movie. It all felt surreal. Quinn realized that she had to tell Rachel of her feelings soon. It was only fair. But maybe... maybe just for tonight, she'd take all she can get, because she wasn't sure if Rachel would still be her best friend after this.

Of course Rachel would understand the being gay part. Duh, she had _two_ dads. But Quinn was afraid that if she admitted her feelings for Rachel and if the brunette didn't reciprocate them, then it would be too awkward to carry on as they were doing right now.

The movie ended and Quinn was in tears. Rachel was right. It was a good movie. Rachel set the bowl down on the side table by her bed, then snuggled up closer to Quinn. Quinn just held onto Rachel tightly, tears still streaming down her face.

"I guess you liked that movie, huh?" Quinn remained silent.

"Quinn? Do you want to talk about it now?"

"Tomorrow, Rach." Quinn promised. "Tomorrow. For now let's just sleep." Rachel leaned up and planted a kiss on Quinn's forehead.

"Okay."

**A/N: Okay. I sort of hit a block as I was starting this chapter and I kept tripping over myself, so I'm not completely happy with this chapter. I know it's more drama than the previous chapters but come on, look at the title of the story! This was supposed to be drama in the first place! I'm actually very sporadic when it comes to writing humor. (I'm really not a funny person. I got lucky enough to stumble into jokes as I was writing the previous chapters.) I do much better when it comes to writing sappy romance, (which I think is coming up in the next chapter.) So just please keep reading and reviewing and I hope you continue enjoying this. Thank you and I appreciate all your support! (Oh, and I also don't own 'Imagine Me and You')**


	5. Seething

**A/N: I'm so sorry, I took a week to take a break 'cause I kept running into blocks with the story. (This, kids, is what happens when you are not prepared.) (Dryly)My first multi-chaptered fic and I skip over the ones I have been outlining in favor of an impromptu storyline. (Thumps head on table.) Oh, well. So here's the continu-**

**Huwaaaaat?**

**This is a flashback chapter!**

**Yup. I'm taking you guys two weeks back. Don't worry, there's going to be Faberry sweetness here, just not what you were expecting. This is set during the events of 2x14 'Blame It on the Alcohol'. I was going to make this into a separate one-shot, but I decided to put it here, since I'm still missing one or two crucial parts that I need to continue the story. Read and review!**

**A/N2: There is a very light lovescene here, but it's not enough to warrant an M. I try to keep my writing as tasteful as possible. (Especially considering I wrote that part while I was in _church_.)**

_**Two weeks ago...**_

Quinn was seething.

All of these couples having fun around her was aggravating, repeatedly driving home to her the fact that she was now single. She still hadn't gotten over the catastrophe that was Valentine's and now she had to sit through the sight of her ex-boyfriend and ex-bestfriend doing body shots of off Brittany while Artie cheered them on.

This was the first time that all the Glee kids had gotten together to drink and party. Oddly enough, this party was hosted by none other than her Rachel. _Wait, what? _Quinn was shocked that she even thought of Rachel in that way, whatever _that_ way was, but maybe she was just being possessive because Rachel was the only real friend she had right now.

She was among the first ones to arrive at Rachel's so that she could help in decorating for the party. The Berrys' basement was amazing. There was a lot of space, couches, a bar and even a _stage_. She didn't have much to do, just rearrange a few cushions, hang up the disco ball and help Lauren set up the sound system. When Rachel finally came down the stairs it was clearly evident that she shouldn't have been wasting her time puttering around in the basement, when she could have been upstairs saving Rachel from her wardrobe.

Quinn hesitated for a split second. She was still a bit uncomfortable with displaying the fact that she was now friends with Rachel in public. There were still some lingering traces of the pseudo-animosity Quinn had built up previously due to her need to succumb to social pressures.

She approached the brunette tentatively. Rachel smiled at her and spoke up.

"Hey, girlfriend. Having fun?"

"Yeah. Awesome party." Quinn replied awkwardly before turning aside and going on to sit with Puck, Tina and Mike by the bar.

Damn.

The night had turned out to be very strange. Santana was now weeping over the fact that the box of tissues she was using was, like, killing trees in Europe or something. (Apparently, the Berrys' tissues were imported.) Mercedes and Tina were rolling on the floor, laughing at a joke Mike told that Quinn thought wasn't even that funny. (Mike had actually forgotten the punch line.) And Rachel and Blaine kept singing song after song after song. Kurt was curled up into the fetal position in a corner, trying to block out the drunken crying rants of Santana.

"Can somebody PLEASE shut Santana up!" Kurt shouted, trying to get himself heard above the loud music.

Brittany jumped up from Artie's lap, arms raised in the air and waving like a know-it-all schoolkid responding to a teacher's question..

"Ooh, me! Me! I know what to do!"

Brittany rushed over to Santana and started making out with her. Needless to say, Santana stopped crying. Kurt froze in shock, then quickly hid his head back between his legs, hoping to erase any memory of what he just witnessed. Sam and Artie started cheering their girlfriends on, while Finn averted his eyes and started chanting "mailman, mailman, mailman" under his breath. Sorry to say that Puck missed all of this because he was too busy getting his head buried in between Lauren's giant knockers.

Quinn, however, was staring in a completely different direction.

Rachel and Blaine weren't singing anymore and were now furiously making out on the stage. For some reason, this sight made Quinn angry. Wasn't Blaine the King Gay Lord Warbler of the Dalton School for Queer Boys? What the hell was he doing, making out with_ her_ Rachel? Quinn was too mad to even notice that she had referred to Rachel as hers once again.

Quinn marched right up to them and forcibly pulled Rachel away from Blaine, dragging her upstairs and out of the party, leaving a very confused Warbler behind.

It wasn't until Quinn sat Rachel down on her bed that Rachel spoke up.

"What the hell, Quinn? I was having fun down there!"

"No, Rachel. That was you making an idiot of yourself by macking with a gay guy."

"Who cares? We were just having some fun. Anyway, he can't be all gay if he was kissing me."

"Is that what you think, _RuPaul_?" Quinn hissed.

The reuse of the old nickname was enough to bring the drunk diva to tears. Rachel stood up and tried to push Quinn, failing miserably as Quinn had a very firm stance brought on by Cheerios conditioning.

"Get out." She pounded Quinn on the shoulders. "Just get out and leave me alone."

Quinn immediately regretted her actions. Clearly, she didn't have the slightest idea on how to be Rachel's friend. She caught Rachel's arms.

"Rachel. I am so, so sorry. I didn't mean to call you that. I guess I still have to get used to the idea of the two of us being friends. But I have to tell you now that I do care about you and I don't ever want to see you get hurt."

She sat Rachel back down onto the bed and cupped her face in both hands, turning Rachel's face up so that they were looking each other in the eyes.

"Rach, your friendship has meant so much to me in this past week. You have been a great source of strength for me and in such a short time you have become maybe the only real friend I have ever had. That's why I hated seeing you fawning over some guy who might, ultimately, cause you pain in the end."

"Maybe you just want me for yourself." Rachel joked. Quinn's face was still serious.

"Maybe," she whispered.

It was like a dam burst inside Quinn. She couldn't hold it in any longer and she just gave in to what she was feeling. She brought her face closer to Rachel's and captured her lips in a fierce kiss, moaning at the sweet taste of the brunette's lips.

Rachel was caught off guard. She had suspected for quite some time now that she was bisexual. Her actions toward Quinn in the past week alone gave credence to that theory. What she didn't expect was that Quinn might be into girls too. Maybe Quinn was fed up with boys. Maybe it was just the alcohol talking. But as the kiss between them deepened, Rachel felt that maybe, just maybe, this was real. Maybe Quinn was _into_ _her_.

Quinn was the first one to break away, gasping for air. (Rachel _did _have better breath control due to her vocal training.) She was surprised to find that she had, at some point, pushed Rachel down onto the bed and was now straddling her, her thigh pressing down on the diva's now wet center. Looking down at the brunette beneath her, seemingly so vulnerable, gave Quinn a kind of rush that she had never felt before. Rachel looked so helpless, so... delicious. In a single endless moment, Quinn kept her eyes locked on Rachel's, searching, pleading. Rachel moaned.

"Quinn, please..."

It was all Quinn needed to hear. She leaned forward and attacked Rachel's lips once more, grinding her thigh on Rachel's heat. Finally. Quinn's hands were now able to do what they had been itching to do the entire night: which was to rip Rachel's hideous dress into shreds.

The rest of the night was spent in a passionate exploration of each other's physicalities. Screams and moans of pleasure threatened to escape the confines of Rachel's, thankfully, soundproofed bedroom. It was well into the morning when the two girls finally collapsed, exhausted but fully sated.

Quinn woke up, alone in Rachel's bed. This didn't come as a surprise to her since she had slept over at Rachel's almost every night for the past week _and_ Rachel always woke up before she did. Quinn was happy with this arrangement since it meant that Rachel cooked breakfast for her. They did have a huge fight in for the first couple of days, however, because Rachel didn't want to stock the refrigerator with Quinn's beloved bacon.

What surprised Quinn, was that she was in Rachel's bed _completely naked_. With a massive headache and no memory of what happened the night before. Quinn turned to the clock by Rachel's bed. She groaned. It was 4 p.m., _frickin_ _4 in the afternoon_!. This must be one hell of a hangover. She made her way into Rachel's closet and got put on a shirt and a pair of short shorts. Then she quickly hopped back under the covers of Rachel's bed since the room was a bit chilly.

Quinn's stomach rumbled. Right on cue, Rachel appeared at the doorway, tray in hand.

"I'm glad to see that you're awake now, Quinn. Would you like some food? I'm sure you must be hungry, not having eaten all day." Quinn sat up a little bit too quickly, the jerking motion making a negative impact on the condition of her throbbing head. She groaned in pain and tucked her head in between her legs.

"What is wrong with you, Rachel? Aren't you supposed to be hungover like the rest of us mortal beings? Or are you just too much of a diva that you barely qualify as human anymore?" Rachel just smiled patronizingly.

"I'll try to take that as a compliment, Quinn. But if you _must_ know, I did my research before throwing this party and I found that coffee and ibuprofen is the best way to go, when trying to get rid of a hangover. Here, " she held out the tray to Quinn. "There's some on there. Just be careful. The coffee's hot."

Quinn snatched the tray from Rachel. She immediately started on the tablets and coffee, then moved on to wolfing down the generous portions of bacon and eggs. It was a glorious day for Quinn when she was finally able to persuade Rachel to cook bacon _and_ eggs for her. Quinn, couldn't help moaning out loud as the wonderful, wonderful pork belly made it's way to her mouth. It was like she was having a bacongasm.

Rachel watched Quinn carefully as she ate. It didn't look as if the blonde remembered any of the events of the previous night. Rachel herself only had a vague recollection of last night. For all she knew, she could have been dreaming. But dream or not, Rachel had finally admitted to herself that she was, indeed, bisexual _and_ she like, _liked_ Quinn.

Rachel was hesitant, however, because of Quinn's very strict Christian upbringing. It was more than likely that Quinn would reject any notion of being homosexual. She figured it was best to just remain friends with Quinn, rather than ruin what she and Quinn had. But still, she had to ask.

"Quinn?"

"Yrmf?" Quinn mumbled around a mouthful of bacon.

"Do you remember what happened last night?"

Quinn's brow furrowed. Everything she remembered about last night was blurred and hazy. Her headache was starting to subside, and somehow her mind conjured up an image of herself kissing Rachel on her bed. No _That_ couldn't be real. She was sure of it. She wasn't _gay. _Quinn swallowed.

"I can't remember much, Rach. It's all muddled up in my head right now." Quinn smiled. "I remember you making out with Blaine, though," she added teasingly.

Rachel's hopes dropped down a notch. Maybe she _did_ just dream up what happened last night between her and Quinn. Well, she would just have to make the best of it and take what she could get.

She slipped under the covers and sidled up next to Quinn, both girls relaxing at the warmth of their shared body heat. Quinn put an arm around Rachel and the brunette laid her head on Quinn's shoulder. It was at that moment that Santana chose to burst through the door.

"Hey, has anyone seen Brit-" Santana stopped and smirked. "Didn't know you were into midgets now, Tubbers."

To her credit, Quinn didn't flinch.

"At least I have a bestfriend I can count on. How about yours?" Santana scowled. Quinn reached over to the bedside table and grabbed Rachel's rape whistle. "And by the way, how's your head?"

Quinn blew on the whistle as hard as she could. The piercing sound was too much for Santana's hungover brain to handle and she rushed out of the room, hands covering her ears.

The blonde turned toward Rachel and found the diva staring at her eyes wide.

"Bestfriend?" Rachel whispered.

Quinn blushed.

"I mean... you know... technically, well, you are _my _bestfriend. I'm not saying that I'm _yours_. I know you haveother friends lik Kurt and-" Rachel put a finger on Quinn's lips to stop her from rambling.

"It's okay, Quinn. I know what you mean. I'm just happy that you think of me that way. And for the record, you're my bestfriend too."

Quinn smiled shakily, tears started streaming down her face. She wrapped her arms around Rachel, cradling the smaller girl in her embrace.

"I'm so sorry for acting the way that I did this past week. I guess I was still insecure about my public image. But I swear, from now on, no matter where we are, no matter what other people may say, you're my bestfriend and I'm gonna act like it."

Rachel leaned up and planted a kiss on Quinn's cheek.

"Is that okay?" Rachel asked in a tiny voice that was _so _unlike her. Quinn burst out laughing and hugged the brunette even tighter. She raised up one hand and ran her fingers through Rachel's soft hair locking eyes with her. Quinn settled into a wide grin.

"Anything you want, Rach. Anything you want."


	6. Pensive

**A/N: I've realized that I should just stop whining to you guys about not being adequately prepared to write this story. I should be able to wing this. You wanna know why? It's because I used to be a Dungeon Master/Game Master/Storyteller for Dungeons and Dragons, World of Warcraft _and_ World of Darkness. (Oh my gosh, that sounds so geeky.) _And_ most of my campaigns were drama and story intensive. (Most of my players were female.) I used to create scenes on the fly based on the actions of my players, (and they did some _freaky_ stuff.) Compared to that, writing a story that I can check and edit should be _easy_. I mean, it's fan fiction, right? The characters are already set. Just throw them into a situation and see what happens. I should just suck it up and write this damn thing. Okay. Now I'm ranting. I should stop. (muffles own mouth)**

_**Present Day**_

Rachel was pensive.

Her sixth sense was tingling. Something about Quinn had changed. Ever since their talk in the bleachers yesterday, it seemed as if the she had stumbled onto something big that she was now keeping from her. During their performance in Glee club, Rachel noticed that Quinn was alternating between staring at her and staring into thin air, like she was thinking about something. (Well, at least it didn't affect their performance.) And last night, Quinn was clearly troubled about something.

Rachel hoped that Quinn would open up to her. She had really come to care a lot for the charming blonde. Two weeks ago, at the party in her house, she realized that she was attracted to Quinn. Then, as the days went by and their friendship grew deeper, so did her feelings for the ex-Cheerio.

Yesterday was an epiphany for her as well. Performing together in front of the rest of New Directions made her feel an intense connection with Quinn. It was their first time doing a duet together in public and it was _magical. _Quinn had this sweet, breathy tone that complemented and accented her own powerhouse voice. It gave Rachel a deep sense of fulfillment and achievement unlike anything she had ever experienced. She and Quinn had poured their hearts and souls into that song. It was _theirs._

Yet she was still afraid of confessing her true feelings to Quinn. It was more than likely that Quinn would reject the idea of being gay. A lot may have changed about Quinn in the past year and especially in the past few weeks, but the one thing that the blonde still clung to was her faith. So, rather than potentially ruining their friendship, Rachel tried to accept the fact that what she had with Quinn was as good as it was ever gonna get and no more.

Well, actually, life couldn't get much better than this. She was in bed, with Quinn, snuggled up against each other. But still, Rachel craved that intimate connection that she could never get just by being Quinn's _friend. _She wanted more.

Rachel's alarm clock beeped.

_Damn. _She hadn't slept a wink. Rachel groaned and reluctantly slipped out of Quinn's embrace and headed off to the bathroom to brush her teeth. Quinn kept on with her slumber. Ever since Quinn started sleeping over, Rachel had turned her alarm clock's volume down low. It was a good thing that she was a much lighter sleeper than Quinn, so she still woke up to it. Quinn was very cranky in the mornings. (She found out the hard way in the Great Bacon War of, like, Three Weeks Ago.) So, it was up to Rachel to snap Quinn out of her morning funk by waking up ahead of time and preparing her beloved bacon for breakfast. The smell of it alone was enough to perk Quinn up and put a goofy smile on her face.

Quinn's eyes shot open. Her arms were empty. She sighed, it was these times in the morning when she missed Rachel the most. Well, at least she was getting breakfast out of the deal. _And_ Rachel's dads were off on another cruise, leaving the girls with the house all to themselves. She shuffled off downstairs, following her nose. She grinned. She could already smell the bacon. She started taking the steps two at a time and tried jumping the last four.

"Oooowwww!"

As Quinn landed, the ball of her foot slipped, causing her to twist her ankle and fall on the landing. Rachel rushed quickly out of the kitchen.

"Quinn? Quinn, is that you? Oh my God! Are you okay?" Rachel knelt beside Quinn to assess the damage.

"Does it _look_ like I'm okay?"

"Wait here, I'm going to get the first aid kit." Quinn sniffled. Then she did a double take. She grabbed Rachel's collar.

"Wait, Rachel!"

"What?"

"The bacon's just about done."

"The bacon can wait, Quinn. You're hurt." Quinn twisted Rachel's collar and brought her face down until it was inches from hers and glared right into Rachel's eyes.

"I swear on all that is holy, Rachel, if you _care _about my well being at all. You. Will. Save. That. Bacon." she hissed through gritted teeth.

Rachel yelped and scampered back into the kitchen. A few seconds later, she came back out.

"There, Quinn. I shut off the stove. Now hold still and let me get the first aid kit."

Rachel quickly made her way into the master bedroom and came back dragging what Quinn swore was a luggage case that looked as heavy as Rachel herself.

"Rach, is that a first aid kit or the whole _freaking_ medical supply closet?"

"Quinn, as you know by now, I always want to be prepared for anything. And since Daddy's a doctor we have access to a lot of medical supplies."

Rachel took Quinn's foot in her hands and started examining it. Quinn's ankle was reddened and already starting to swell.

"Well, it looks like you sprained your ankle Quinn. Come on, let's get you to the couch first." Rachel slung Quinn's arm over her shoulders and helped the injured girl hobble over to the living room couch. She placed a cushion on the coffee table and settled Quinn's foot onto it.

"Okay, now wait here and don't move."

Rachel returned a few minutes later with a tray in her hands and plopped down on the couch next to Quinn.

"Here." She handed Quinn an ice pack. "Put this on your ankle. Oh, and take these." She handed Quinn a couple of pills from the tray. Quinn obeyed, washing down the pills with a glass of orange juice that was on the tray. Her breakfast was also on it and she immediately dug in. When she was done, Rachel looked at the clock.

"We should take off the ice pack now, it's been about twenty minutes already. We can put it back a little while later."

After making sure that she was all settled, Quinn turned to Rachel.

"Rach, I think we need to talk."

"Of course, Quinn. You can tell me anything." Quinn took a deep breath.

"Why are you so good to me?" Rachel's brow furrowed.

"What do you mean?"

"I've been so horrible to you in the past, yet you still helped me when I got slushied. You even agreed to be my friend, you cook bacon and eggs for me and you let me sleep over here any time I want."

"I've slept over at your house too."

"That's beside the point. You give me a hug whenever I need it. You take care of me when I'm hurt." Quinn suddenly flushed. Her voice lowered to a whisper. "A-and when you kiss me on the cheek, all the bad things just seem to go away."

Rachel's eyes were brimming with tears. Quinn fell silent and waited for Rachel to respond. It was a long two minutes before the diva finally decided to speak up.

"I wish I could just tell you that it's not in me to hold a grudge and that I think people deserve a second chance. Well, I do. But I also have to be honest. And with you, Quinn, it's so much more.

"I care about you. A lot. And there's something about you that just draws me in. Changes me. In ways that I cannot predict. I admit, sometimes it scares me. But, ultimately, I am glad. I used to be a very selfish person, until you joined Glee last year. All the drama that happened in sophomore year opened my eyes to the realities of life. Through you, I saw that other people's feelings, other people's lives matter. Not just my own.

"I know you've changed, Quinn. Just like I have changed. But I more so. For not only have my eyes been opened, but my heart as well. I should have told you a couple of weeks ago, but I was afraid it would ruin our friendship. But now, I just can't hide it anymore. So here it is: I am in love with you, Quinn Fabray."

Quinn's eyes were brimming with tears as well, not only with shock, but with relief as well. She was speechless. This was more than she could ever hope for. Not only did the girl of her dreams have feelings for her as well, but she loved her. She _loved_ her.

Rachel mistook Quinn's silence for a negative response and started to stand up.

"I understand, Quinn, if you don't want to be friends anymore. I should just call your mom to come pick you up." Rachel turned to leave, but Quinn quickly grabbed her arm. Rachel looked down curiously at the hand on her arm, then flicked her gaze back up at Quinn, her eyes starting to catch a faint glimmer of hope. Quinn swallowed.

"Rach, sit back down and listen to what I have to say." The brunette allowed herself to be tugged back down onto the couch.

"First of all, I'm not going anywhere. Secondly, do you remember yesterday, on the bleachers, when you told me to close my eyes and visualize my future?"

Rachel just nodded.

"Well, to tell you the truth. I couldn't see anything at first. I have no idea what I want out of life. But I searched deeper and found out that there was something that I actually did want in my future that I've just been denying to myself all along." Quinn cupped Rachel's cheek in one hand. "And _that_ was you."

Quinn leaned forward and brushed Rachel's lips with her own. Both girls were crying openly now. Tears mingling together as they both deepened the kiss. It was quite a while before they both stopped to take a breath.

"Is it too soon to tell you that I love you too?" Quinn whispered against Rachel's lips. "'Cause, you know, it's only been, like, less than a day for me."

Rachel pulled back and locked eyes with Quinn.

"Quinn, I believe that love is infinite. It has no beginning. No end. And it is always there. We just have to grow into it." Rachel gave Quinn's lips a quick peck. "So to answer your question: No. I do not think it is too soon."

Quinn smiled. She brought her face closer to Rachel's stopping just shy of kissing her.

"Well, then I love you Rachel Barbra Berry."

"I love you too, Quinn Charlotte Fabray."

The two girls lost themselves in each other.

_A few minutes later... _

"Wait. Let's pray."

"Oh, _come ON!_"

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! Please review! (This is not the last chapter though...) I'm also uploading a side-story to this at the same time as this one, entitled Bacon Me Mine. It's about the Great Bacon War (of, like, Three Weeks Ago.) Try checking it out.**


	7. Gay

**A/N: Okay, it's about time I updated this. I've been neglecting it for far too long. I'm probably going to make this the last chapter, 'cause I want to focus more on 'I Love New York'. (And I've still got those sixteen, maybe seventeen, stories stuck in my head that are just itching to get out.) So this is it, (for now) and thanks for following and reviewing my first ever multi-chaptered story!**

**A/N2: Surprise, surprise again! I'm pulling a fast one here that might end up making you guys hate me. You'll know when you read it. I'll just say that it's something that I have been planning from the start and I ended up deciding not to change it, 'cause it's just something that's been niggling to get out of my head.**

**Additional disclaimer: Xena and Gabrielle are the property of RenPic. I'm just borrowing them 'cause I _love_ them. I wish I were writing X/G now. (Although the original novel I'm planning to write in the future _is_ gonna be an uber. Sort of.) And this now runs parallel to 2x15 'Sexy' and 2x16 'Original Song', so some events still coincide with what happens in the episodes. **

**Chapter 7**

Quinn was gay.

The happy sort of gay. Okay, okay, the other one too. Yeah. So gay. And in love, which was the best feeling of all. She could just jump for joy. Well, she _would_ have jumped if her ankle wasn't still sprained. Quinn grinned. If there was one advantage to being injured, it was that you could get other people to do things for you. Especially now that she had a gorgeous girlfriend to tend to her every whim and fancy.

She had spent the entire weekend at the Berry house with Rachel taking care of her, fetching ice for her ankle, cooking whatever she wanted, and her favorite part: the two of them just making out on Rachel's bed. It was pure heaven. She just wished it would never end.

Right now, they were spending their Sunday afternoon, snuggled up on the couch, doing a marathon of Xena: Warrior Princess. Rachel had bought the whole DVD collection a couple of weeks ago, when she had first realized she had feelings for Quinn. She had read somewhere that Xena and Gabrielle were two of the biggest lesbian icons ever to appear on television. She had hoped that, watching it with Quinn, would help convey her feelings for the blonde in a subtle manner.

Apparently, it was _too_ subtle. Especially the first couple of seasons, which involved Xena and Gabrielle flirting and throwing themselves at various guys in nearly _every_ episode. It frustrated Rachel to no end, since she had been expecting this big lesbian romance and instead got a whole lot of sword and sorcery mixed with some slapstick humor. The only reason that she kept watching was because for some reason, Quinn _insisted._

Quinn was hooked right from the start. She would never admit it, but she was secretly a geek. She had never had many friends, despite being popular and she had long since learned the futility of hanging out with Santana and Brittany, given that they would always, _always_ sneak off at some point and make out with each other. So Quinn had spent many a night over the years, holed up in her room alone, immersing herself in the world of online fantasy RPG's, where she could make friends without fear of anyone knowing who she really was.

So when Rachel had brought home this DVD box set with this hot raven-haired woman on the cover, all clad in leather and armor, Quinn nearly creamed her panties. Sure, the series came out more than ten years ago, but the acting was pretty good. And _come_ _on, _Lucy Lawless in a short leather skirt? Who could say no to that?

They were currently in the middle of the second season and Rachel was _bored. _She couldn't understand Quinn's fascination with this series. Well, at least that cute blonde Gabrielle was walking around now with a bare midriff, but that was painfully overshadowed by the fact that she was wearing a hideous sports bra in a shade of green that Rachel could only describe as _bilious. _Good thing though that in the current episode she had changed into her Amazon garments, bringing her hotness up by a factor of 10. Still, she couldn't get into the story; it just didn't appeal to her. But right now, she was just happy to endure boredom as long as she got to spend more time with her new girlfriend. Rachel smiled. _Girlfriend._ She still couldn't believe that she had gone to pining for Finn to falling in love with Quinn in less than a month. And even more, that Quinn had fallen in love with her too_._ Truly, it had never felt so good to be gay. _Now... if only this damn show would... wait, what_?

Rachel did a double take.

"Quinn! Could you play that back again?"

Quinn was smiling at Rachel now as she played back the last scene and then paused it. There it was: Xena kissed Gabrielle. As in, full on lips to lips. Well, they didn't show the _actual _kiss, but Xena's lips were definitely headed in _that_ direction. Rachel pumped her fists.

"Yes! I knew it!" Quinn quirked an eyebrow at Rachel.

"Knew what, Rach?"

"I just knew they were lesbians! That's why I bought this in the first place!" Rachel stopped and clapped her hands over her mouth. Oops. Both of Quinn's eyebrows were now raised.

"And were you hoping that watching this with you would turn me into a lesbian as well? " Quinn said facetiously. Rachel just buried her face in Quinn's chest.

"Rach, I don't think my boobs are big enough for you to be able to motorboat them." Rachel's head snapped back up in less than a second. Quinn giggled. Suddenly, they heard keys turning the lock of the front door. The girls quickly smoothed out their clothes as they heard Hiram's voice waft through the house.

"Girls, we're home. Did you have a goo-" Hiram stopped when he came into view of the living room. Leroy was just behind him.

"Hey guys, we brought-." He stopped as well when he saw Quinn. "Quinn? What happened to your foot?" But the girls were now staring at Hiram, who had adapted a deer-in-the-headlights expression. Apparently he was staring at the television. Three other pairs of eyes now turned their gazes upon the device in question. Rachel and Quinn's jaws dropped in horror. They had left the video paused right when Xena and Gabrielle were about to kiss. Leroy broke the silence.

"Is there, ah, anything you'd care to tell us girls?" Rachel steeled her resolve.

"Dad, Daddy, we _do_ have something to tell you." She took Quinn's hand in hers before continuing. "Quinn and I are now girlfriend and girlfriend." Leroy pumped his fist n the exact same expression as Rachel had done only a few minutes earlier.

"Yes! I knew it!" He slapped Hiram on the back so hard, the shorter man's glasses almost fell off of his nose. Leroy held forth his upturned palm toward his husband.

"C'mon, pay up. You owe me fifty bucks." Rachel couldn't believe her ears. She slapped Leroy's arm.

"Dad! Don't tell me you two were betting if Quinn and I were going to get together just like you always do when watching an episode of Blind Date!" Hiram let out a loud hearty laugh.

"Oh no, sweetie. Not _if, _we were betting on _when_ you two would get together. We've seen the signs for some time now." Hiram turned to Leroy with a pouty expression and his hands on his waist. "But I guess Mr. Prissy Pants here had some inside information, 'cause _I_ always win our little bets." Leroy raised his hands defensively.

"Hey, I gotta win one sometime. My psychiatrist street cred needs a boost." He turned to Quinn. "Oh, Quinn, before anyone else forgets, I'd like to say: Welcome to the family." Quinn blushed.

"Thanks" came the slightly mumbled reply.

"Now," Hiram interjected. "Let's take a look at that ankle."

* * *

Monday. The start of another glorious week at school. Not even having to go to school on crutches could dampen Quinn's spirits. Her head was buzzing with hot... juicy... thoughts. She couldn't wait for lunch break, when she could finally give in to the desire that had been building up within her since morning when she had woken up to that wonderful scent of... well, you know. She couldn't help but still want it, even though Rachel had already given it to her earlier this morning. And again. And again. And again.

Yes. Monday was now Bacon Day in the cafeteria. And no one was gonna stand in her way, crutches or no.

Someone was standing in her way.

Actually, two someones. Quinn stopped in shock as she saw Santana and Brittany standing before her, pinkies linked. She knew Santana and Brittany had some kind of falling out last week after they sang that song with Ms. Holliday. So _this_, though once familiar, was now just plain strange.

"Hey, Quinn" greeted Santana. Quinn was even more amazed. Santana usually called people nicknames. This deficit in their colloquy was just unbelievable, especially considering that the Latina should have fresh material, given that she was now on crutches. She just kept staring. Santana chuckled weakly.

"Yeah, I've given up on that. I've just come to say that I'm sorry about being such a bitch before and stealing your boyfriend. I dumped him anyway 'cause Mr. Trouty Mouth didn't appreciate that song I wrote for him." Santana took a breath before moving on. "And I also wanted to say thank you. You singing that song with Berry last Friday just opened my eyes. Apparently, there are people more pathetic than me. I was just pining for Brittany, but you... it's _so_ obvious that you are head over heels for that midget you call a best friend." Quinn raised her eyebrows.

"I thought you weren't gonna call people names anymore, Santana." Santana huffed.

"Baby steps, Q, baby steps. Anyways, to finish, I went after Brit one more time and now we're back together. _And_ out and proud, which is more than you can say,." Brittany gave Santana a quick kiss on the cheek and then laid her head on her shoulder. Quinn pouted.

"I'll have you know, Santana, that that 'midget' is also my girlfriend now." Quinn smirked as Santana's mouth fell open. Suddenly, she heard a voice by her ear as a pair of familiar arms wrapped around her neck from behind.

"_Who's_ a midget now?" Crap. It was Rachel. Quinn blanched.

"Th-that wasn't me,Rach. It was S-santana who called you that."

"I didn't hear Santana, I heard _you._"

"Uhh... ah... umm." Rachel chuckled.

"I love it when you're all flustered." She licked Quinn's ear. Quinn stiffened. Santana was still gaping in shock. Brittany, however, was smiling.

"Yay, Quinn!" She leaped forward and gave Quinn a hug. "You know Santana said sex wasn't dating so I wasn't sure two weeks ago, but now that you're officially dating, we can go on, like, double dates and stuff!" Three sets of eyes swiveled to the tall blonde. Rachel was the first to voice the question that was on everyone's mind.

"What was that about two weeks ago?"

"Well, you know, you and Quinn totally did it at that party at your house two weeks ago. You were so loud my ears hurt." It was as if the corridor had suddenly exploded judging by the cacophony that ensued.

"WHAT?"

"REALLY?"

"ARE YOU FRIKKIN' KIDDING ME!"

People around them were starting to stare. Rachel grabbed Quinn's arm and dragged her into an empty classroom. Santana and Brittany trailed behind, not wanting to miss a moment of this. Rachel whisked around to face Quinn, retaining her grip on the stunned blonde.

"How could you not tell me that we already had sex, Quinn! I thought I had just dreamt it all up, for crying out loud!" Quinn was finally able to gather her wits about her.

"Me? ME? How about _you_, Miss I'm-not-having-sex-till-I'm-25! How could _you _not know that you've just lost your _virginity?_"

"For your information, Quinn, I have no way of telling. I broke my hymen years ago, whilst practicing some advanced dance techniques!"

The bell rang signaling the start of lunch break. Quinn wrenched herself out of Rachel's grip and started hobbling as fast as the crutches would allow.

"Bacon!"

Rachel shook her head as she watched Quinn hurry toward the cafeteria.

"I'm destined to be in a love triangle with Quinn and bacon forever, aren't I?" Brittany gave the chagrined diva a quick one-armed hug.

"That's okay, Rach. Maybe you could have a threesome?"

Santana and Rachel just goggled as Brittany waltzed off happily after Quinn.

* * *

When school finally let out for the day, Rachel and Quinn headed off to Rachel's car only to find two boys in Dalton uniforms leaning against it.

"Hello, Rachel, Quinn. I hear congratulations are in order." Rachel gave a little shriek and went over to hug the boy.

"Kurt! I haven't seen you in ages!" Blaine who was standing off to the side gave Quinn a little wave.

"Hi." Quinn waved back.

"Hi." Kurt and Rachel finally parted. Kurt put his hands on his hips and regarded the two girls.

"_Well,_ I have it from Mercedes, who heard it from Tina, who was told by Artie, who has it from Lauren, who was informed by Puck, who overheard Brittany and Santana talking, that you two," pointing his fingers at Rachel and Quinn. "are finally _dating._" Rachel hooked her arm around Quinn's waist and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"You heard that right." Quinn just blushed and gave them a small smile. Kurt grinned.

"Oh my gosh! You two are so adorable together! The both of you have been making my gaydar go off the charts since, like, forever. It's good to finally see that both of you have realized what's been right in front of you all along." Blaine cleared his throat and spoke up.

"Speaking of realizing what's in front of you, Kurt and I also have some news to share:" Kurt and Blaine gave each other a glance and nodded, before Blaine continued. "We're together now." Rachel jumped forward to sweep the boys into a bonecrushing embrace.

"Oh my God! I'm so happy for you guys!" Quinn rolled her eyes. "And Quinn," Quinn froze. "Even though my back is turned, I still know that you're rolling your eyes back there." Quinn pouted. Rachel kept on. "Now stop pouting and come here." Quinn huffed but went to join in on the group hug anyway.

* * *

Quinn was anxious. She was currently in the passenger seat of Rachel's car which was driving in the direction of the Fabray household. She had come out to her mother last Friday, and although her mom didn't reject her right away, the issue was still left unresolved when she went away to stay at the Berry house over the weekend. She just hoped that her mother would still be accepting of her. Her heart started to pound as they finally arrived.

When they came to the door, Quinn stopped.

"What's wrong, Quinn?" Rachel asked.

"What if... what if I get kicked out again? I don't think I could handle losing my mother again, Rach." Rachel rubbed Quinn's back.

"It's gonna be okay, Quinn. It's different this time." Rachel gave Quinn a soft smile. "This time, you have me." Quinn smiled shakily back at Rachel as the petite girl put an arm around her shoulder and helped her to enter the house.

What happened next would be remembered in years to come as the most shocking moment of Quinn and Rachel's lives. It would be the final straw that would push Quinn to forever refer to this day as 'The Day of the Gay.'

The two girls entered into the Fabray's foyer, to find Judy Fabray snuggled up on the couch necking with someone. Not just someone, another woman, Not just a woman, but _Coach Sylvester._

This was beyond comprehension. One would expect the space-time continuum to rip apart and end the universe as we know it. Quinn hoped, no, _prayed_ that her mom would jump up from the couch and shout 'April Fool's!' even though it was still a couple of weeks too early. Judy suddenly noticed the two girls standing stricken by the entryway. She jumped up and rushed forward to give Quinn a hug.

"Quinnie! You're home!"

Rachel and Quinn were still too stunned to even move a muscle. Judy knew that her daughter's first instinct would be to run, so she took this opportunity to draw the girls into the living room and sit them onto the couch before either of them could even think of trying to bolt for the door. Quinn would have actually ran, if it weren't for the fact that she was still on her crutches. It took a few minutes for Quinn to find her voice, well some of it anyway.

"Wha-wha... how... why...?" Judy put a hand on her daughter's knee.

"Quinnie, will you promise to sit quietly and listen to me explain?" Quinn struggled internally for a moment then she deflated.

"Fine."

"Okay, so here's the story girls: Susan and I, we went to high school together. Our relationship used to be not unlike yours and Rachel's. I was the popular cheerleader whom everybody liked and Sue... well Sue was just a misunderstood girl who was fiercely protective of her sister. High school was worse back then, when it came to treating the differently abled. All the jocks kept thinking up ways to pick on Jean." Rachel raised her hand.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but who's Jean?" Sue put a hand on Judy's arm.

"Jean's my older sister. She has what the doctor's call Down Syndrome." Realization dawned on Rachel and Quinn.

"Ohh... So that's why... Becky..." Sue just nodded. Judy pressed on.

"Now, to continue... I met Sue after I stopped some of the fottball team members from egging Jean, we became friends soon after that and, long story short, we fell in love." Judy paused for a moment as though she was mustering the courage to relate what would happen next. "We were supposed to come out together during our senior prom, but Sue had a mishap with her hair getting dyed blonde-. "

"Wait, you were a _brunette_?" Rachel interjected.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Sue answered. "Jean tried to dye my hair with napalm and the chemicals damaged my beautiful black hair. But I swear to God StarBerry or whatever it is that you call yourself, if you don't stop interrupting, I will personally go over to Schuester's house to get the products to dye _your _hair blonde; see how _you_ like it." Judy raised her hand to Sue's shoulder.

"Sue, _behave_." Sue fell silent. Judy gave the girls a somewhat reassuring expression. "Now, where were we?" Judy's face fell once more. "Oh, that's right, senior prom. Well, Sue ended up being the laughingstock at the prom and I... I lost my nerve. I guess I was still a bit attached to being popular back then. Shortly after, we graduated, Sue enlisted in the army and my parents arranged me to be married off to Russel Fabray. To this day, I regret not standing up for Sue that night. I know Sue has been back here in Lima for fourteen years already, but I never got up the courage to contact her until last Friday." Judy got up and went to sit beside Quinn, putting an arm around her daughter's shoulders. "It wss _you_, Quinn, who gave me that courage. When you came out to me last Friday, you did what _I_ should have done all those years ago. You were true to yourself, something I haven't been for a long, long time." Quinn turned to face Sue.

"Is this why you've been mean to me all this time? Because of my mom?" Sue snorted.

"Newsflash: I'm mean to _everyone._ However, you're wrong about me this time, Q. I've actually been _very_ considerate of you. Let's see, hmm... First of all, I took you under my wing, I even made you the first ever freshman to become captain in the history of McKinley High." Quinn started to speak, but Sue held up a hand. "Wait, let me finish. I actually knew you were pregnant for a week before I even booted you off the squad. I gave you a second chance when you came asking for your spot back, which, as you well know, I _never_ give. Oh, and I didn't fill your lockers with dirt last week, unlike Sandbags and Air Blondie. See? I've been nothing but considerate. Now, I don't claim it didn't hurt when you betrayed me for that club run by that walking advertisement for hair gel, but you stood up for what you wanted and I respect that. Oh, and just because I'm back with Judy now, doesn't mean I'm gonna go easy on you at Regionals."

Quinn smiled.

"Bring it on, Coach, bring it on."

* * *

The two girls were up in Quinn's bedroom, winding down after a very long day. It took a while, but Quinn had finally accepted the fact that her mom was now dating _(shudder) _Coach Sylvester. Well, actually, all it took was a few (okay, not a few, a _lot_) strips of bacon with some bacon-fried hash browns and some bacon ice cream for dessert (_don't ask._)

Quinn went over to her closet to get her sleep wear ready. Rachel threw herself onto Quinn's bed.

"Crazy day, huh? Seems everyone caught the gay over the weekend." Rachel chuckled at her own joke. Then she caught sight of Quinn removing her shirt and quickly sat up. "Quinn! Please do _not _tell me that you are wearing a green sports bra!" Quinn grinned.

"You know, green _is_ one of my favorite colors." Rachel scrunched her face. Quinn laughed hobbled over to Rachel. "You are adorable, do you know that?" Quinn cupped Rachel's face in her hands and leaned down to kiss her on the lips. A smile crept over Rachel's face as they parted. Quinn put aside her crutches and knelt down in front of Rachel, careful to keep the weight of her injured ankle. _Oh my God, I can't believe I'm about to do what Sam did,_ Quinn thought. _But this_ feels _right. _She reached underneath her bed and pulled out a small box and opened it. Rachel gasped. Inside was a ring set with a beautiful topaz cut into a shape of a star.

"Rachel, this is a promise ring. I know we've only been officially together for three days, but those three days have meant so much more than every other moment in my life. I love you, Rachel and I know in my heart that that's never gonna change. That's why I'm doing this right now. I can't promise that everything is gonna be alright, I can't promise that this is gonna be easy, but I promise to be there for you even when things aren't so good. Wherever life may take us, I promise to stand by your side. Where you go, I go."

Rachel's eyes were welling up with tears as Quinn slipped the ring onto the brunette's finger.

"Quinn, this is the most romantic thing that has ever happened to me. I love you."

"And I love you. You are the source of my happiness." Rachel drew a finger along Quinn's collarbone, sliding down to tug at the blonde's bra.

"Now, let's get this horrible green sports bra off and let me show you what the 'source of your happiness' can do." Quinn raised an eyebrow.

"You seem awfully confident for someone who doesn't even remember their first time." Rachel smirked.

"I have many skills.".

**A/N: Whoo! I'm a bit sad that this has to end (for now.) I'm also glad that I was able to end this my way. I have been, am and will always be a Xenite and that's where my writing will go in the future. But not yet. I still have a lot of fics planned for the Glee universe. I'm also uploading another side story to accompany this fic. It's a song fic featuring the girls singing Get It Right which I've skipped over in the 4th chapter. Try checking it out; its entitled 'Heartstrings'. (Oh, and I'm also uploading a new chapter for 'I Love New York' as well.)**


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